The Go-Between
Directed by Joseph Losey
Written by Harold Pinter from a novel by L.P. Hartley
1971/UK
First viewing/YouTube rental
“The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.”
― The Go-Between
Pinter meets period piece meets illicit passion in the English countyside. And it all comes together beautifully.
The plot is told as a long flashback during a meeting between 50-somethings Leo Colston (Michael Redgrave) and Marian (Julie Christie in age make-up). They discuss the summer of 1900, the eventful season when Leo (Dominic Guard) turned 13.
Leo spent the summer at the grand estate of Mr. (Michael Gough) and Mrs. (Margaret Leighton) Maudsley as a guest of their son Marcus. But Marcus gets ill and Leo finds himself with time on his hands. Leo is just starting puberty and develops a massive crush on Marian. This makes it easy for her to inveigle him into becoming a sort of top-secret messenger between her an hunky tenant farmer Ted Burgess (Alan Bates).
Then Leo finds out Marian’s parents are about to announce her marriage to aristocrat Hugh Trimmington (Edward Fox). Marian has no intention of abandoning her double life until her wedding day. Marcus recovers and Leo begins to feel it wrong to aid and abet the lovers. Ted bribes him with a promise to explain to him the mechanics of sex. And here I will end my summary.
This is actually as much a coming of age story as it is a romance. I iked it a lot. The production and cast are both great and a beautiful score by Michel LeGrande adds to the atmosphere.
Margaret Leighton was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance as a gracious matriarch with a heart of stone.
